The Druidic College

Hard Learned Lessons – The Smith’s Apprentice

The smith grew annoyed as he awaited the return of his apprentice from his errand. “Where was the boy,” he growled to himself, almost aloud. “The first time I trust him to go and pay the charcoal burner his fee, the boy has up and disappeared. And what of my money? It was only six pennies, no large sum to me but to the boy …”

He sat heavily on the sturdy workbench and watched the embers’ glow fading as the night crept silently in.

9/11 It would be amiss of us not to make comment on this monumental day of remembrance. September the 11th has become a benchmark in all our lives. No matter what nationality, race, religion, gender, age, or political leaning, it has changed our lives, for better and worse. The past ten years have brought challenges and changes, some welcome, many not, but most necessary. September the 11th set into motion a chain of events that, it cannot be denied, has altered the course of history.

The Tule Chinook run started last month, and Metro hosted a "Welcome Home" party out at Oxbow Park on the Sandy River.

Alban Elued

As the Great Wheel turns, the Sun once again enters the cardinal Air sign of Libra, the sign of balance. It is the elusive moment of equal day and night; the Autumn Equinox, the festival of Alban Elued, Light of the Water, when, as the Celts believed, the year descends into the rejuvenating depths of the ocean. We enter the dark half of the year where the mysteries have domain and we may seek their answers. In Celtic lore, the Lady Cerridwen stirs her cauldron of knowledge in preparation for the great feast of Samhain, the occasion of death and rebirth.
We gather in the rewards of the second (fruit) harvest. The Sun has departed the Earth sign of Virgo and the land has offered its harvest of grain and fruits. Life now moves beneath the frost, ready to begin the preparations for the rebirth of the next spring. At New Grange, the glowing shaft of the equinox Sun has pierced the womb of the welcoming Earth. Already, the seeds of new life lay within the womb of our Mother Earth. She protects and nurtures them under a thickening blanket of newly fallen leaves.

One of our own, Tallis Dracos, has had the good fortune lately to win TWO first prizes at costume balls, going as, you guessed it, the White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland. And very convincing he is two, down to pocket-watch and gold spectacles.. He even sports a parasol! His first win was at an alternative ball earlier in the fall. His most recent, this Halloween week-end and a local ale house. The most recent was most profitable (are you listening IRS?) as he won a considerable cash prize. Better than a bunch of carrots! Our congratulations to him, and this also explains he gets a little odd around March. IRR

When Summer is at its height…

For the Celts, when the summer reached its summit, the extravagant and ever deepening shades of pink and purple flowering heather herald a season of jubilation and self-indulgence. With the sweet fragrance of heather floating lightly on the summer breezes and the taste of its rich honey on their tongues, the Celts raised their spirits further by drinking an intoxicating ale made from the flowers. This brew of ancient legend was the primary drink of the highlands and the islands of Scotland, where it was drunk from cattle horns.

Danu is singing to the Earth Dancing and Circling her Sacred Healing Well Where the ancient ones dwell. Her rivers and streams ebb and flow As she Murmurs to the seasons call Swaying and rocking, growing and flowing, Feel her, smell her, taste her, see her, hear her call out our name.

Danu is singing to the Earth Dancing and Circling her Sacred Healing Well Cleansing waters, sacred flames, fragrant flowers, fertile soil, Compassionate Mother, free of greed, gives to us her magick seeds.

Definition for absolutely nothing: There would be no existences, no reality, no truths, no knowledge or beliefs.

Nothing is a concept that depicts the absence of something. Nothing is no thing, indicates the absence of something. Nothing signifies things lack importance, awareness, value, relevance, or significance. Nothingness is the state of being nothing, the state of nonexistence of anything, or the characteristic of having nothing. There would be no existence. No omnipotent powerful being. No universes. No galaxies.

Absolutely nothing is impossible. “Nothing” cannot exist.

Times Embrace

By Tallis Dracos

Walking slowly through the night
with only Lady Moon my guide
Opening my heart to her loving touch
Lush grass caresses each new step on my path
A call from afar tugs me forth without knowing why
Something hidden within is awakening this night
Ahead I hear a brook babbling gently
Soft and silky the water's music tugs at my attention
Kneeling before black waters I take a cool drink
Its crisp, clean taste refreshes my weary body
Mind beginning to reel slightly with the intense coolness
Lady Moon shines her silvery light upon me

For as long as people have walked erect, they have been distilling and processing plant material to extract their powerful healing essences. The word chemistry comes from the Greek word chemia, meaning “plant juice.” In Medieval Latin, the oils distilled from medicinal plants were referred to as the Quinta essentia – the quintessence of the plant – and that is from where we derive the term “essential oil”.
Essential oils are remarkable multifaceted substances that are alive with energy. They are crystalline structures that transport light, and that light is activated by thought.